You know when you first meet with someone and you explain that all you need is a steady flow of interesting articles or anecdotes or photos etc etc and they are all enthusiastic and raring to go…. well we all know that this flow soon stops and if you are like me you end up sending out emails pleading for content to work with.

Ok, so I don’t have all the answers but I have found a trick that works – simple, effective and helps the social media shy customer or the ‘but everything is boring here’ comments.  I ask the customer once a week minimum to send me an email as if they were writing to a friend and to include such content as:

• What happened last week
• Any great guests or customers
• Any strange requests from guests or customers
• If they are a restaurant what is their recipe of the week
• Anything funny happen with you or your staff
• Is anyone within your company doing anything exciting or for charity
• What is going on in your local area in the next week

The list could go and on, but as social media is heralded as the ‘friendly’ face of a business a chatty piece of content is great to work with – well that’s what I am finding anyway – for example Boath House – a luxury Scottish hotel.  Don Matheson one of the owners can wax lyrical in a fun way about the pitfalls and joys of running a hotel – if you would like to have a look then go to their Facebook page – oh and become a fan, as it all helps!  If anyone has any other suggestions I would be interested to hear them – always looking for help in this area!

Before starting my own SEO & Internet Marketing company, I had been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years.  During this time worked in many 3, 4 & 5 star establishments, many had multiple AA rostettes as a recoginition for the standard and quality of their cuisine and dining experience.

In many cases, certainly in the late 80′s and early 90′s, the menus mainly served meat, poultry and fish dishes with a bland and uninspiring vegetarian option, should anyone require it.  It is widely known (although not accepted) that many chefs considered preparing and serving vegetarian dishes a ‘personal slight’ on their carefully prepared and thought out carnivorous-based menus.

Thankfully times have changed and vegetarians are no longer catered for as if a pariah of the cullinary world, so all is well ….

Well no actually all is not well.

Each to His Own

I am married to a beautiful, whitty and life-loving lady, we share many things in common and the enjoyment of good food is just one.  My wife is more than partial to anything of the sea – enjoying nothing more than cracking open a few langoustines, plucking a few mussels or laying open a lobster or two.

I however am a meat eater through and through and do not eat anything that swims (or ever has swum during its maritime life).  This makes it difficult when choosing a restaurant, ‘gastro-pub’ or dining venue, my wife would choose a seafood restaurant every time.

Most seafood restaurants cater for ‘non-seafood’ eaters though so the experience for me should be equally as good regardless of my lack of taste for seafood right? WRONG!

I seem to be visiting an increasing number of seafood restaurants that offer a slim range of meat-eating alternatives, with the ones offered being bland, unimaginative and generally just there to ‘make up the numbers’.

Not ‘Anchored’ in Reality

We recently visited The Crown & Anchor Inn in Findhorn for Sunday lunch.  This pub ‘shouts’ of specialising in fresh local seafood; scallops, mussels, crab etc., but has something for everyone  -

The bland (tiny) pate starter, bolstered by salad and without the red onion marmalade that was billed, was a steal at £4.95 – a steal from our pockets! The ‘usual suspects’ main courses were all there sticky chicken (whatever the hell that is!), steak and a chilli con carne.

I plumped for the chilli (at not far off a tenner!) and oh what a mistake – bland, bland, bland! no seasoning, no flavour and no thought as to how to properly put together a classic dish, however the seafood theme was maintained as my poor ground beef was ‘swimming’ in oil!

A quietly placed yet inevitable complaint met with a spirited defense of said dish and the comparison that ‘a whole container’ had been sold with no complaints, no complaints, how very British – this strange equation meant that there was nothing wrong with my meal!

I left feeling let down, ripped off and having had a dining experience that must have been very much like those vegetarians in the late 80′s & early 90′s.

What is Google AdWords?

Advertising through Google AdWords allows an immediate and targeted reach in relation to potential customers.  The ever changing applications within AdWords allow a more defined and effective campaign to be set up, run and adjusted in response to performance. Varying methods of campaign delivery and cost application ensure a totally flexible solution to paid advertising online.

How Can We Help?

Google AdWords is a powerful, cost effective way of promoting your business online – if planned and set up correctly.  Many people who contact us already have campaigns running and are looking to improve the ROI (return on investment) – we often review their campaigns and find that in a few simple steps we can save them a considerable money and ensure that their daily budget is spent wisely.

We have extensive knowledge and experience in setting up and running Google AdWords campaigns and can assist any business, in any market, with any budget.

We review/paln any campaign by:

• Fully reviewing campaign to date (in consultation with client regarding campaign goal specifics)
• Researching new keyphrases
• Creating new AdGroups more focused to the chosen phrases
• Re-grouping phrases
• Matching phrases correctly
• Reviewing daily budget and keyphrase CPC levels
• Creating multiple, effectively optimised AdText
• Reviewing delivery methods
• Scheduling campaign effectively
• Creating campaign reports to deliver as required
• Integrating campaign performance data with online marketing reporting

We can help you get more from Google AdWords | Contact Us Today

If you would like more information relating to this post please contact me or join me online: Twitter | Facebook

• What is it?
• How does it benefit my business?
• How do I get started?
• How long do I spend per day/week?
• … and many more

Social Media (should) mean different things to different businesses – what channels to use and when, how long to spend, what type of content to put out and how to get involved in online conversations with potential customers.

Most of the answers depend on specific online business goals and a social media strategy should be planned around these, planning is everything along with monitoring and measuring the success of your efforts.

There are many companies that can help you with this but ultimately it is time and budget which drives business marketing decisions.  Being as informed as possible is the key when considering such an essential part of a  businesses online marketing – and to muddy the waters further, the face of social media marketing is constantly changing.

It is a core part of our ethos when providing SEO services to Scottish businesses that we keep our clients informed of changes to this marketing ‘landscape’ and provide information, content and links to all the key resources that will help their online marketing decisions.

With this in mind Jennifer Laycock, editor of The Search Engine Guide has recently posted a great article::
Understanding the Three Primary Goals of Social Media (highly recommended reading)

If you would like more information relating to this post please contact me or join me online: Twitter | Facebook

When you make a search within Google you will note that more often than not the top results are related to ‘local business listing’ (including location maps).  We are regularly asked by our customers how to get their businesses listed in these results and what additional value it will have in relation to their sites’ SEO – the method of listing your business is easy (you just need a Google account) and the value in terms of SEO is huge and best of all … it’s free to list!

• How does it all work?
  
• How do I claim my listing?
  
• How do I make the most of it’s features?

Google have recently combined its Local Business Centre and Place Pages into one entity, and in addition added some new features.

In order help you get listed properly and make the most of the service, Google have recently published an in depth webinar explaining all. If you looking for more information or are new to the Google Business Centre/Google Places we highly recommend that you watch this, it really is a must see:

It is widely understood that your website should become the definitive online business/product range information repository and meet the requirements of all customers, markets and occasional site users.  The functionality should facilitate and enhance any online marketing activities e.g. links to business blog, social media pages/profiles and news/press article related pages.

A business blog is a key part of  any online marketing strategy and will create a point of connection with local and regional customers  – it is an essential ‘interest generator’, creating an online buzz about your business and introducing the news, new product information and offers to the target audience.

A business blog is an effective link generator – Google has recently adjusted its search engine results pages to include additional social media filters, allowing users to filter results by type such as blogs, news, video etc.  From this transition it is now widely recognised that Google index blog posts within a very short period of time – sometimes within hours! This change is extreme beneficial when considering SEO.

If you would like more information relating to this post please contact me or join me online: Twitter | Facebook

Further Reading:

Getting Your Blog Posts Right
Blog Post Checklist: 10 Questions to Ask before you publish

Has your telephone number or email address changed as your business has grown?  Perhaps you have moved premises?  What about all the extra services you now provide and those ones that you no longer find cost effective to offer anymore?

When we first work with customers, especially accommodation providers, we urge that they search the net for all references to them and their business.  It is quite frightening to see what comes up sometimes i.e. room rates set at £25 when actually the price is now £50.  So now begins the work of tidying up and updating and in future keeping on top of it.

All a bit daunting and time consuming.  Well obviously you know that we can do it for you don’t you?  Whether it is you or us who carries out this work a good place to start is to have all your information in one place so you can copy and paste where required:

1. Business Name
2. Contact Name
3. Telephone Number
4. Email Address
5. Website Address
6. Services Provided
7. 10 / 50 / 100 / 500 word descriptions about your business

Once you have these in place then it is just a matter of trawling through every mention of you and your business, oh and a quick tip… don’t send every business listing or web link to your home page – send them to the most relevant page on your website for that particular directory or listing.  Another tip, make your first stop the Google Business Centre – absolutely imperative that this is completely up to date.

We are pleased to say they have asked Aviemore Business Solutions to assist them with their social media campaign including website SEO.  Their new website is having some adjustments to it as we speak that will assist us further with online marketing and they are ready for taking the business to a new level.

From estate agency to access logistics for windfarms, Bell Ingram can assist.    They already work with multinational companies such as BT and  Shell and we are pleased to be able to call them a customer.  Watch this space for ongoing news of their acheivements ….. and if you are looking to buy or sell your home then dont forget to call in the experts at Bell Ingram.   You can also follow them on Twitter and become a friend on Facebook.

With Google Local listings taking the top spot in most searches, it’s critical that you claim a listing for your business. Once done it is essential that your listing is set up correctly – below we have included some guidelines to help you:

• Claim and update your listing (and only one listing) – make sure the description is as relevant and keyword rich, in relation to your products and services, as possible. Select the correct business category and make sure you use all contact numbers complete with area codes. Include any additional content in line with other web listings to ensure continuity.

• Upload images and videos – ensure that you have logos and images of any products in relation to your business type.  Place description tags for each but don’t overdo it and avoid ‘spammy’ labels

• Cultivate Reviews – this is good for user recommendation – other will be more likely to buy from a previously used and endorsed source, this is your opportunity to get business via online ‘word of mouth’. Encourage your client base to use your business listing as a point to leave reviews and refer to them in additional listings and blog posts

• “More about this place” – This section is a listing of mentions on the web that Google consider to be relevant and authoritive. It will usually list key listings, blog entries and social media profiles.  This provides the user with a point of reference to find additional information about your business.

• User Content – this section lists additional user generated resources & mentions of your website and will list mainly sites that allow users to tag and mention additional sources such as Flickr, Google maps and Wikipedia

The Google Local listings are a very powerful (free) resource available via your Google account and we cannot stress enough the value of getting this right.  So, make time to ensure your listing is as good as it can be – and if you don’t have the time, we are happy to help you or do it for you – contact us now.

This sounds like a great solution if you have been made redundant, recently retired or want a year off to do something different.  Oh and did I mention that TEFL isnt all about teaching in another country.  What about all the people in your local community who need to learn English?

If all of this sounds too good to be true then why not take a look at their website TEFL Scotland – if you are in our southern neighbourhood then you can look at TEFL England – all in all there is a centre near you that can help you gain a new skill…. and why are we interested?  Because we have just started working with them on their Search Engine Optimisation and social media campaigns so no doubt we will be blogging further so watch this space for interesting articles.  If you would like more immediate information then you can follow TEFLScotland on Twitter.